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Galα(1‐3)Gal expression of the cornea in vitro, in vivo and in xenotransplantation
Author(s) -
Lee Hyeon II,
Kim Mee Kum,
Oh Joo Youn,
Ko Jung Hwa,
Lee Hyun Ju,
Wee Won Ryang,
Lee Jin Hak
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
xenotransplantation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.052
H-Index - 61
eISSN - 1399-3089
pISSN - 0908-665X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-3089.2007.00433.x
Subject(s) - xenotransplantation , cornea , stromal cell , transplantation , in vitro , corneal transplantation , in vivo , biology , immunology , microbiology and biotechnology , medicine , cancer research , biochemistry , neuroscience
Background: To investigate αGal (Galα1‐3Galβ1‐4GlcNAc‐R) expression of the porcine cornea in vitro, in vivo and after xenotransplantation. Methods: Using the GS‐IB4 lectin ( Griffonia simplifolia I isolectin B4), the expression of αGal was evaluated in the normal porcine cornea and in cultured corneal stromal and endothelial cells of the second passages. The distribution of αGal epitopes was also evaluated in corneal grafts at 4, 7 and 10 days after pig‐to‐rat orthotopic corneal transplantation. Results: The expression of αGal was mostly confined to the anterior stromal keratocytes of the normal porcine cornea. However, reactivity for GS‐IB4 was markedly increased during cell culture passage (P)—by 18.0% (P1) and 39.0% (P2) in cultivated keratocytes, and by 62.1% (P1) and 87.1% (P2) in cultured endothelial cells. The expression of αGal epitopes was gradually enhanced in all corneal layers of the graft after transplantation. Conclusion: αGal expression in the cornea was gradually induced during in vitro culture and after xenotransplantation, suggesting a role of putative Gal‐related acute humoral rejection in porcine corneal xenotransplantation.